


Lost

by TheGreatCatsby



Category: All New X-Factor, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Angst, Mentions of other characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 13:24:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3210692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatCatsby/pseuds/TheGreatCatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How do you mourn someone you don't know you lost?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost

**Author's Note:**

> So this is kind of inspired by the rumors of Marvel getting rid of several characters in their reboot thingy that's happening this spring, particularly for Luna Maximoff. Anyway, in this story, Luna isn't dead. She's just been sent to another universe by Snow, which has resulted in her being erased from the time-line of this universe because science. But...
> 
> Enjoy!

It starts when he runs past the Air and Space Museum, and then runs back and skids to a halt at the entrance. It's closed because it's dawn, because Pietro likes to take runs when he wakes up feeling restless but can't pinpoint why. Running helps. 

Something tugs at his thoughts, insistent like a child pulling on their parents' shirt sleeves to get their attention. And Pietro does try to pay attention, but whatever it is, it slips away. He feels like he's trying to pull water. 

He stands there for what feels like hours. When looks down at his watch, fifteen minutes have passed. He never stands still for fifteen minutes. Not without a good reason. Not because a museum makes him feel like he does sometimes when he has a dream and wakes up and tries to remember only to have the images blur and swirl like paint-water down a drain. 

So he runs back to base. 

*

“Pietro, are you asleep?” 

Pietro blinks. His eyelids are heavy, each heartbeat reverberating throughout his whole body. “No,” he says, even though he feels like he could fall asleep again at any moment. 

“I thought you were a living caffeine generator,” Remy says, watching him carefully. 

“That's not how that works,” Pietro mutters, turning his attention back to Lorna. 

She watches him for a moment longer before turning to the rest of the team and saying, “So after each mission, I need a debrief from each of you so that I can compile your experiences into my reports and relay them back to Snow. He wants to know more about what we do after our last unauthorized mission.” She shoots an apologetic look at Georgia. 

When the meeting is over, Lorna grabs Pietro and pulls him aside. “What's wrong?” 

“Nothing.” 

“You don't fall asleep in the middle of meetings,” Lorna says. “Am I really that boring?” 

“Yes,” Pietro says, “but that's not why. I'm tired.” 

Lorna frowns. “I know you're not a living caffeine generator but you don't get tired.” 

“I keep waking up,” Pietro says. “Whenever I do I—I can't remember why.” 

“No one remembers their dreams,” Lorna tells him. 

“That's not true,” Pietro says. “Wanda remembers her dreams.” 

“I don't.” Lorna shrugs. “Well, I'd offer you sleep aids but those things don't work on you, do they?” 

“No,” Pietro says. “Unfortunately. Otherwise Remy's snoring wouldn't prevent me from falling asleep in the first place.” 

Lorna nudges him in the arm. “Be nice.” 

“I am,” Pietro says, and she leaves, and he thinks, there is no problem. If he can't think of what the problem is, then it doesn't exist. 

*  
“Can you help me with this?” Georgia holds up her uniform, which has a tear in it. 

“I don't know how to sew,” Pietro says. 

“Yeah but Lorna said it'd only take you a few seconds to learn.” She looks up at him, hopeful, waiting. It pulls at his chest. 

“She's wrong,” Pietro says, and he spins around and is gone before Georgia can even ask why. 

*

“I don't think Pietro likes me.” 

“What d'you mean? He's the one who wanted ta help you most.” 

“He won't talk to me.” 

“He's a moody one. I'm sure he'll get over it. And don't worry, he don't talk ta me, too.” 

“But he hates you.” 

“Well then...” 

*

He gasps, and by the time his lungs are full, he's awake. 

His chest is tight, like someone's been sitting on it, and his cheeks are wet, and his eyes are burning. He swipes at the tears, but they keep coming. So he keeps swiping at them until they're gone. And then he turns onto his side, curling against one of his pillows. 

He feels dry but his breath keeps hitching, and he's squeezing the pillow too hard, and he just feels so tired. But if he falls asleep he'll forget. 

He'll forget...what?

*

Snow sends them on a mission to recover a dead girl's body from a country overseas to bring back to her parents, old friends of his. He asks them first if they want to do it, and everyone agrees. 

“Imagine that,” Remy says to Pietro. “Us agreeing on anything.” 

“I assure you, this will be the only time,” Pietro tells him. 

It takes several hours to fly over there, and at least another hour to get to where the body's been taken in the name of a goddess who demands offerings. There's fighting and shouting and running, and then they find the body that everyone's been guarding. 

The goddess emerges, bright and brilliant and deadly, but Pietro only sees the girl. 

She's young, young enough to still be called “girl.” She has a round face and long hair and her eyes are the only part of her body that's uncovered. The rest is wrapped up. But her eyes are open, like she'd been startled. Like she was torn from life and that was her last ever surprise. 

Pietro feels bile rise in his throat at the sight of her. He falls to his knees, and with shaking hands, tries to touch her. He wants to smooth her hair back. No, he wants to braid it to keep it out of her face. 

Georgia, who's as old as this girl, who insisted that she needed to be on the team despite her young age, shouts, “Quicksilver!” 

Pietro doesn't listen, because he can't look at Georgia for the same reason he can't look at this girl. 

“DAD!” 

Pietro spins around, a name caught in his throat, fear coursing through his body. He'd run across the universe for her and never stop, if only he could find--

Everything explodes. 

*

Lorna is shot several times, and requires several weeks to heal. The rest of the team is fine, because Danger prevented them from all nearly dying. Pietro has broken ribs and a concussion, but he doesn't feel like that matters. He's up and by Lorna's bedside within an hour of regaining consciousness. 

“I'm sorry,” he says. “If I'd been paying attention I could've prevented you from getting hit.” 

“It's fine,” Lorna says. She's still a bit out of it, but determined to be awake for her team. “What happened?” 

“It's not important.” 

“It is.” 

They look at each other for a moment. Then Pietro says, “I saw the body. And I couldn't look away.” He doesn't tell her about the voice that called for a father. He doesn't tell her because he doesn't think it was real. It couldn't be real. Because no one on the team is a father. 

“It's hard,” Lorna says after a moment. “I wouldn't want to be her parents.” 

“Her eyes were open,” Pietro says. 

Lorna frowns. “They weren't.” 

Pietro nods. He's not going to argue this. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I'm fine.” Pietro stands up. His chest hurts. “I'm just going to rest.” 

*

He can't rest.

*

Pietro makes it to his room, closes the door, and then slides down to the floor. His legs won't even carry him to his bed. 

His room is so sparse. Of course it is. He's always moving, rarely taking much with him. He's only been here for a few months. There's books on his desk, a computer, and not much else. 

Except, on the floor, tucked into the gap between the bedside table and the wall. A small, dark object. Pietro moves forward and grabs it, half-expecting that there won't be anything to grab. 

But there is, and when he opens his palm, he finds a blue hair tie. And stuck to it, two strands of blonde hair. 

The noise he makes sounds like his throat is being ripped out. And he can't stop. 

Hands grab his shoulders, grab his wrists. He tries to pull away, but for once he's not fast enough, because they snuck up on him, didn't give him the chance to run away. He's screaming, clutching at the blue hair tie, his nails digging into his palm and making him bleed. 

The next moment, he's in bed, staring up at Lorna and Remy's faces. He clenches his hands. They're empty. 

“Where,” he rasps, “is it?” 

“Pietro,” Lorna starts, but he snarls, “Give it back!” 

Remy presses the hair tie into his hands, looking a little scared. 

“He needs to rest,” Lorna says. “I'll stay with him.” Remy leaves, and she sits on the edge of the bed. “Something is wrong, Pietro.” 

Pietro can feel that the strands of hair are gone, but the thing that tied them together, that's something he can hang on to. “I lost her,” he says. 

Lorna's brow furrows, genuine confusion. “Who?” 

The name, working it's way up his throat, almost there--

“Luna.” 

He sees the shock on Lorna's face before he passes out. 

*

“He's started to mourn her.” 

Snow looks up from his papers. “That won't do. The others?” 

“Don't remember her. Any trace of her has been erased from this universe. Mostly.” 

“Then find me a telepath,” Snow says. “This won't work, unless he forgets her. Completely.”


End file.
